What Must I Do to Be Saved?
- Ottawa Gospel Hall
- Sep 16
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 4
It only takes one moment to realize you’re not in control.
For a prison guard in ancient Philippi, it was an earthquake. The ground split open, the doors flew wide, and everything he trusted collapsed. In the panic, one question burst out of him: not “How do I fix this?” but “What must I do to be saved?”
It’s the same question many of us ask, quietly, when life starts to shake.
A night that changed everything
This jailer wasn’t looking for religion. He was just doing his job, keeping two prisoners named Paul and Silas under lock and key. But around midnight, while they sang hymns in the dark, the impossible happened. An earthquake so strong that their chains snapped and the prison door swung open.
He woke up to chaos, assuming the worst: the prisoners were gone, his career was over, and his life with it. Roman law meant execution for losing a prisoner, so he drew his sword to end it himself.
Then a voice came from the darkness:
“Don’t harm yourself! We’re all still here.”
He called for light, rushed into the cell, and fell trembling before the two men he’d once chained. And through the dust and disbelief, the question came: “What must I do to be saved?”
When the ground shakes beneath you
You don’t need an earthquake to feel what he felt. Sometimes it’s a breakup, a loss, or the quiet sense that you’ve run out of answers. You realize that beneath all your plans and distractions, something deeper is broken.
That’s when this question starts to surface:
How do I get right with God? Can I be forgiven? Is there hope for someone like me?
Something has to be done
The jailer’s question was urgent. He didn’t need a pep talk or a new mindset; he needed rescue. That’s what salvation really means—to be rescued.
But like most of us, he assumed he had to do something. We often think: “If I try harder… If I’m a better person… If I give more or serve more…”
Yet Paul’s reply cut through all human effort and confusion.
Why “Believe” is enough
At first, that sounds too easy. Believe? That’s it?
But belief here isn’t a vague idea—it’s trust. It means putting your full weight on Jesus, resting in what He has already done instead of what you can do.
On the cross, Jesus bore the punishment for sin we could never erase.
He took our guilt, paid our debt, and opened the way back to God.
His resurrection proved the work was finished.
That’s why salvation isn’t about climbing to God.
It’s about trusting the One who came down to rescue us.
A rescue story
The word saved means rescued from danger.
Rescued from sin’s penalty.
Rescued from living life without purpose.
Rescued from a future without hope.
That night, the jailer went from despair to joy. He washed the prisoners’ wounds, invited them into his home, and discovered that grace can reach anyone—even a man who’d once locked up God’s messengers.
Why this still matters
Maybe you’ve tried to “start fresh” more times than you can count. Maybe religion feels complicated, or you’ve been told you need to earn your way to heaven.
The good news about Jesus is this: God’s grace does what our effort never could.
The cross wasn’t a symbol of failure—it was the place where love and justice met. Jesus gave His life so you could be free. When you turn to Him in faith, He meets you with forgiveness, not shame; grace, not judgment.
